A safe and healthy workforce
The health and well-being of our employees is our number one concern. Our policies and programs reflect this, covering both operations and the health and safety of the people who work for us.
Employee health management
DSM is rolling out a global employee health management program, Vitality@DSM. Participants are offered a Vitality Check (an extensive periodic medical check-up) and are asked to fill out an electronic questionnaire. This provides DSM with anonymized, tangible and quantitative data on health at work, enabling the company to monitor progress through performance indicators, compare results by region as a basis for defining the content and priorities of health promotion campaigns at site and regional level, and create scorecards at relevant levels in the company.
Vitality@DSM fits the company’s mission very well as it creates ‘brighter lives’ for the employees and addresses one of the global trends (Health and Wellness) defined in DSM’s strategy for the years 2010-2015. It was first implemented in the Netherlands in 2009. In 2010 and 2011 DSM made a start on the global roll-out, with locations in China, India, the US and Brazil implementing the program. At the end of 2011, more than 6,100 DSM employees worldwide had participated.
Based on the data collected until now, the highest employee health risks at DSM relate to stress (mentioned by 72% of participants in Asia, 67% in North America and 46% in Europe), eating habits (North America 49% and Europe 43%), and lack of exercise (Asia 70%). The ‘readiness to change’ score differs from region to region and is taken into account in defining action plans.
Occupational health
In 2011 a total of 6 occupational health cases were reported (the same as in 2010). Reported cases feature physical ill-health (3 compared to 5 in 2010) and psychological ill-health (2 compared to 0 in 2010). One allergic reaction was reported (1 in 2010). In 2011, DSM continued to increase its employees' awareness of occupational health issues and to further improve the reporting of all occupational health cases the company encounters.
Clear employee safety goals
DSM has set itself the target of reducing the Frequency Index of recordable injuries (number of fatalities, Lost Workday Cases or Restricted Workday Cases and Medical Treatment Cases per 100 DSM employees and contractors in one year) by 50% or more (compared to 2010) by the year 2020. In 2010 this Frequency Index was 0.57; the target for 2020 is ≤ 0.25. In 2011 the index was 0.53. The Frequency Index of Lost Workday Cases involving DSM employees was 0.15 (2010: 0.15).
DSM’s performance in this area has fluctuated around this level since mid 2009. It has proved to be difficult to improve it to a next level. Over half of the accidents in 2011 related to ‘slips, trips and falls’, ‘sprains and strains’ or the work posture in which the job was executed. For such cases improvements must come from training, increased awareness, and behavioral programs as well as improving ergonomics in work situations. Such programs take some time to deliver success.
It is with deep regret that DSM reports the tragic death of a contractor employee in 2011. On 13 September an electrician from Austin Industrial lost his life while working on a high voltage substation at the recently acquired DSM South Center property in Augusta (Georgia, USA).
On 28 July a vapor cloud explosion followed by a fire occurred at the recently acquired DSM-AGI Xinhua plant in Tainan (Taiwan). As a result, seven employees were injured, five of whom were hospitalized shortly after the explosion. Two employees were seriously injured; one of them had burn injuries to 70-80% of his body. To protect people from potentially toxic substances that might leak out of the plant or might be released from the fire, the authorities temporarily shut down the hospital and the neighboring agricultural refinement factories, evacuated the patients from the hospital and also evacuated approximately 1500 residents living in nearby villages.
DSM wants to eliminate fatalities altogether and has launched specific initiatives (on top of the well-established general safety programs) to reach this ambition, including the strengthening of the implementation of a set of Life Saving Rules in 2011.
DSM’s Life Saving Rules focus on certain known high-risk activities (for example entry into confined spaces, or driving) where the company has experienced fatal accidents in the past. Many of the rules already existed; strengthening their implementation as ‘Life Saving Rules’ provided an excellent opportunity for highlighting the importance of the rules, and discussing what they mean in the daily working environment and how they should be applied. Via company-wide briefing sessions in June and workshops in the second half of the year all DSM employees and all contractors working on DSM sites were involved in the roll-out of and discussions on these Life Saving Rules.
We’re serious about learning from incidents
DSM uses the TRIPOD method to analyze serious incidents and learn lessons from them. TRIPOD offers deep learning opportunities because it reveals what are called ‘preconditions’ and ‘latent failures’. These are hidden flaws (including organizational or management flaws) that play a vital role in causing accidents.
A relatively new analysis method that complements the TRIPOD approach is Human Factors Analysis (HFA). HFA was developed by The Keil Centre (well-known for its Safety Culture Maturity® model). It is based on the observation that 80% of all accidents are due to human factors. DSM uses this method in addition to the TRIPOD approach when deemed appropriate.
DSM investigates very serious near-misses in a similar way as fatalities. This maximizes the lessons to be learned from them.
To enable the entire DSM organization to learn from incidents occurring anywhere in the company, DSM has an internal reporting system in place which includes communication to the relevant groups of employees.
